


peppermint carnations

by kluu



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Dorms, Flowers, Help, Hyunjin gets hurt, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, M/M, School, Yang Jeongin | I.N-centric, i still don't know how to tag, jeongin pulls an all-nighter, nervous wreck Hwang Hyunjin, no capital letters, pouty Yang Jeongin | I.N, some blood, writing this with my last brain cell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 01:22:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20037574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kluu/pseuds/kluu
Summary: jeongin's been pulling all-nighters for his end of the semester exams and hyunjin's getting worried.or"one year of high school without hyunjin couldn't be that bad."





	peppermint carnations

**Author's Note:**

> i initially planned for this to be my first work, but i kept adding ideas to the plot. so now you get this mess... hope you enjoy winkwonk. 
> 
> p.s. don't mind the errors, this headache got me on a roll...  
p.p.s. don't mind the writing (not the headache's fault this time)

"one year of high school without hyunjin couldn't be that bad." jeongin remembers himself saying. he was wrong.

jeongin's first semester of school without hyunjin was finally coming to an end. he'd say he was doing fine whenever the others asked how well he was managing alone, but the truth is he really wasn't. he missed being accompanied by hyunjin. sure he had friends at school, but the extraneous practice and activities he participated in with stray kids seemed to isolate him from them. suddenly their conversations began to wear out when all jeongin could think of was school and being an "idol." he hated that word, but his life had slowly become a crucial balance between the two. that's when he'd turn to hyunjin, who was a lot better at handling these problems than he was. jeongin was envious of him. hyunjin was much more serious and intelligent than jeongin, despite the front he puts on when a camera's on him.

he missed the car rides to school and the long trips back to the dorm he shared with hyunjin too. sometimes they'd take longer routes just to talk a little bit more and visits to the nearby parks became normal for the two. one day they'd be spending whatever they had in their wallets on ice cream and the next day they'd be screaming at the top of their lungs in a karaoke room. 

jeongin remembers one day vividly, however. the day hyunjin told him he liked him. it was a friday. the two were free the next day, so they didn't care about returning home early. when school ended, the two went shopping. they picked out clothes for each other and even went as far as buying couple rings. it was nearing midnight, when they decided to head back. the two were almost to the dorms before hyunjin had stopped him.

"you know i like you right?" he stuttered,"and not in the friend kind of way either."

jeongin nodded before taking a deep breath, "of course. you know i like you too right?"

"of course." hyunjin replied and smiled. he grabbed jeongin's hand, interlocking their fingers, as they began walking again. their relationship became nothing more than that though. they were just two friends who like each other, and that was okay with them.

after hyunjin graduated they didn't go out as often. he spent most of his time at the studio practicing now and jeongin was too afraid to bother the older boy for attention. he would wait until hyunjin came running up to him for a suffocating hug. and those hugs alone could help jeongin power through an entire day.

*

it was night and jeongin was back to reviewing his class materials again. hyunjin would listen to music on jeongin's bed, occasionally bringing up a random topic for the two to ponder about until jeongin came to bed. they usually slept together even though hyunjin had his own bed just across the hall. this became their routine, at least for the past month or so.

jeongin woke up to the sight of his blankets suddenly being pulled off of him. this was also a part of their routine.

"you fell asleep at your desk again." hyunjin gave a disappointed sigh, "i had to carry you to bed you know. you can't keep doing that. it's bad for your back, and frying your brain with your notes and books only makes it work less."

he hated feeling like a burden to hyunjin, but today was finally exam day so he wouldn't have to bother him with school until next semester. 

"hurry up and get ready. i'm going with you today." hyunjin said throwing 

"wait, what... why?" jeongin asked

"why wouldn't i? it's exam day. i have to take care of you until you pass the school gates." jeongin was glad he would have company again.

he took care of his morning routine, making sure to put on his lucky socks. coincidentally those were the same socks he had confessed to hyunjin in. maybe they were pretty lucky after all.

hyunjin was busy in the kitchen, making him breakfast. cooking was a rare thing for hyunjin. everyone knew he wasn't the best cook, but everything always came from the heart and that's all that mattered to him.

after they had finished eating, the two made their way to the car downstairs as the other members wished jeongin luck on his exams. like hyunjin had promised he walked jeongin all the way to the school gates when they arrived. unexpectedly hyunjin's farewell was followed by a loud cheer that garnered attention from around the school. jeongin had never felt second-hand embarassment as bad as this before. he cringed and shot hyunjin a disgusted look before heading to his first class.

"good luck!"

*

he felt awful on his way back home. it was like the adrenaline that kept him up during the exams had deteriorated his strength to the last quark. too bad he didn't get a hug from hyunjin today. and suddenly all he could think of was hyunjin. how he could curl up against him and sleep for the rest of the day when he got home. or the feeling of hyunjin's sometimes painful hugs. just the thought hyunjin being happy made him happy.

"hey you there! kid!" it was a woman, a lot older than he was.

jeongin looked around at the empty sidewalk, there certainly wasn't anyone else she could be talking to.

"here, take this." the woman held out a small glass vase of flowers as jeongin scrambled over to her. "promise to come back to me whenever you need flowers. alright?"

jeongin nodded and took the vase out of her hands. he thanked her for her kind gesture as he hurried back to the dorm.

"this would be a perfect gift for hyunjin." he thought to himself. 

hyunjin was a giver by nature. whether it was words of advice, affection, or gifts jeongin was usually on the receiving end. he had always wanted to repay hyunjin, but he could never come up with anything special. today he could finally express his gratitude. after all hyunjin's done so much for him.

*

when he entered, he saw hyunjin sprawled over the living room floor while chan and felix played some games on the couch. he picked himself up quickly, smiling and staring at jeongin like a deer in headlights.

"nice flowers you got there. peppermint carnations." hyunjin says, reaching his arms out.

"uhm, yeah. they're for you. thanks for everything." jeongin smiles and places the vase in his hands.

"we should move them to a bigger vase though. they won't last long in this tiny one."

jeongin nodded in agreement and followed hyunjin into the kitchen who was now pulling another vase out of the cabinet.

"hold onto the flowers for me"

hyunjin placed the vase of flowers back into jeongin's hands and went to wash the larger vase. after he finished, he grabbed the smaller vase from jeongin's hands. only, he didn't. the vase was on the floor, fragmented and shattered into thousands of pieces. water, flowers, and glass spread on the kitchen floor as blood seeped through the cuts on hyunjin's legs. he hissed in pain and jeongin rushed to his side. chan helped hyunjin to the bathroom quickly after, leaving felix and jeongin in the living room. luckily jeongin had his socks, or else they both would've been bleeding in the kitchen.

"i can clean up the kitchen. you probably need some rest." felix said reassuringly

jeongin coudn't speak. he only nodded and made his way towards his room. thoughts raced through his mind. enough thoughts for tears to fall down down his cheeks as he buried his face into a pillow. he doesn't know why he cried. maybe it was the anxiety of scoring low on his exams. what if he couldn't do as well as hyunjin did? hyunjin's efforts in supporting him would go to waste. or maybe it was because he couldn't do enough for hyunjin. how could hyunjin love a child like him? crying over spilled milk. whatever it was, he was glad he could let everything go all at once.

*

there was a knock on the door before it was gently pushed open. it was hyunjin, and jeongin couldn't tell if it made him happy or want to cry again. he walked over and sat beside jeongin, setting his apeach plushie on his lap.

"my poor baby jeongin. please tell me you're okay."

"im fine." jeongin huffed 

"don't lie."

"i'm not." there was a long pause.

"you know, i worked really hard on those exams because i wanted to make you proud. you've done so much for me and i can't even give you flowers." jeongin laid his head on hyunjin's shoulders.

"you're enough. enough for me. don't forget that. jeongin. please."

**Author's Note:**

> what did i just write...
> 
> don't forget to drop me some comments, i'd really appreciate it <3


End file.
